Frayed Knot

On the other hand, if the Mets have been drafting so poorly - or at least overly cautiously - in the middle rounds in recent years as every "expert" knows, it doesn't really negate the fact that they're getting contributions this season, and significant ones in most cases, from the likes of: - Josh Thole - 13th Round 2005 - Daniel Murphy - 13th Round 2006 - Lucas Duda - 7th Round 2007 - Nick Evans - 5th Round 2004 (OK, not much of a contribution here) - Bobby Parnell - 9th Round 2005 plus, although in slightly more round-about ways - Angel Pagan - 4th Round 1999 - Pedro Beato - 17th Round 2005 and (really stretching things here) - Jason Isringhausen, 44th Round 1991

Philly kicking Florida's ass in the 7th - so it looks like 3rd place before the night is out. Hanley back for the Marlins but not enough so far. Washington (with Zimmerman back) up 8-6 on Saint Louie in the 8th.

... and Joe Mather as the game-ending out.

Frayed Knot wrote: Jee-tah* has had 68 hits this year in the Yanx 64 games -- point being that even if he comes off the DL at first opportunity (realizing of course that Jeter's recuperative powers allow him to do the 15-Day DL in 8 just days) and jumps right back into things, 6 hits in 3 games is hardly a slam dunk. Oh wait, we're not the first three games back but rather games 4, 5, & 6. Never mind then.

We're allowed to get extra-base hits too, right?

Jee-tah* has had 68 hits this year in the Yanx 64 games -- point being that even if he comes off the DL at first opportunity (realizing of course that Jeter's recuperative powers allow him to do the 15-Day DL in 8 just days) and jumps right back into things, 6 hits in 3 games is hardly a slam dunk. * and, btw, since when is that considered proper pronunciation?

John Sickels' post-draft assessment: The Mets have promised to be more aggressive in the draft, and this is a good start. ... Nimmo and Fulmer provide plenty of upside at the top, while college picks Mazzoni, Verrett, Pill, and Muno could all advance pretty quickly through the system. There are some more speculative/upside choices mixed in, and if the Mets are really serious about spending money they could see what it takes to steer some of the teen-round-tough-sign picks away from college. Selected reviews, more via the link: 1st round) Brandon Nimmo, OF, Wyoming HS: He'll want a lot of money to skip college ball at Arkansas, but I think it is worth it. He's got above average tools across the board, good plate discipline, and more polish than we have any right to expect given his background. [bad weather state, no HS team] 1-Supp) Michael Fulmer, RHP, Oklahoma HS: Mid-90s fastball, good slider, needs better changeup but hardly a serious flaw at this point. Also has an Arkansas commitment. 2) Cory Mazzoni, RHP, North Carolina State: Low-90s fastball, sometimes faster, good breaking ball, good splitter, interesting stats. Note outstanding K/BB and K/IP ratios. 3.30 ERA, 137/29 K/BB in 115 IP. 3) Logan Verrett, RHP, Baylor: Good athlete, 90 MPH fastball, good slider, good changeup, good control, not a dominator but has few flaws that can't be corrected. 2.93 ERA, 96/31 K/BB in 101 IP. 10) Matthew Budgell, RHP, California HS: Projectable, velocity inconsistent, Cal State Fullerton recruit. Could go much higher in '14 draft if he goes to school. OTHERS OF NOTE: LHP Ken Matthews (12th round, California HS) is another Fullerton recruit with average present stuff who could go much higher with three more years of development. SS Phil Evans (15th round, California HS) got first round buzz at one point but erratic spring and San Diego State commit dropped his stock. OF Mason Robbins (20th round, Mississippi HS) could have gone 15 rounds higher if not for strong Southern Miss commitment. FK: Note the "could go much higher in 2014" comments on some of the later round picks. Fans mostly focus on the early rounders (for obvious reasons) but the constant 'Mets are cheap' comments were really misplaced when thrown at top 100 picks applied much better to the mid & later rounds where they usually took few if any chances. Now it's unlikely all of these guys will sign this year, but the ones that do could, if all things go well, turn out to be bargains later on even if they command what seems like a high price now.

Latest word has him sitting for at least a week although no DL decision made as of yet. Shit, you might as well go ahead and DL him, it's not like the replacement guy is going to drag the offense down or anything.

Pelfrey - 3.5 Carrasco - 0.3 Reyes - 0.2

Nice to see a writer say publicly - and right up top no less - that the inevitability of a mid-season Reyes trade has always been opinion passed off as fact even as it was never built on anything other than speculation.

It's past midnight (when we let it all hang out) so I'm within the framework for starting the IGT Niese goes up against Jair Jurrgens Lineups to follow in like 17 hours or so.

Braves --- 38-29, 2nd place, 2.5 games out Lost Monday to Houston breaking a six-game winning streak Tuesday 7:10 -- Niese vs Jurrjens [8-2; 1.82 ERA; 1.00 WHiP] Wed 7:10 -- Gee vs Hudson [5-5; 4.06; 1.29] Thurs 7:10 -- Dickey vs Minor [0-2; 4.50; 1.68 - 4 starts, 22 IPs] It�s not like we don�t know these guys and not a lot has changed in the last two weeks. To review, we took 2 of 3 in Citi in early June Game 1 -- took a 3-1 lead into the 8th when a Reyes error allowed the tying run in the 8th and then Frankie gave up two more in the 9th. Game 2 -- scoreless until bottom 7 when a bases-clearing Reyes triple capped off a 5-run inning. 5-0 was your final. Game 3 -- We jumped on Hudson early and often which was good enough to withstand a late Braves charge and hang on 6-4 They still have trouble scoring (3.91/gm - 5th from bottom in NL), but are best in league at preventing runs (3.24/game), and they�ve got enough LHPs in their pen [O'Flaherty & Venters] to fuck our entire lineup (unless Bay suddenly remembers how to hit) although closer Kimbrel has been looking a little more hitterish lately. DL -- Heyward (shoulder) beginning rehab, probably back in a few days and maybe before the series is out. He got called out by Chipper the other day for not playing through his problems. RHP Brandon Beachy -- Strained Oblique (the official injury of 2011) Nate McLouth -- Strained Oblique (see, I told ya) Peter Moylan -- lower back (good, we never seem to hit him) Martin Prado -- staph infection (helpful, but what we really need from them is some kind of team-wide staff infection) It�s their outfield that�s really in a state of flux with all the injuries and sucking. Jordan Schefer (.222/.319/.270 - and likes to foul balls off his face in his spare time) has taken over in CF with McLouth out. The surrounding grass out there is occupied by Caveman Hinske (he of the full back tattoo), ex-Card Joe Mathers who we saw in the earlier series, and some 28 y/o rookie named Matt Young (8 singles in 42 ABs). In the infield: McCann is always a dangerous stick; rookie Freddie Freeman at 1B is getting his groove on; Uggla still sucking & blowing simultaneously; Gonzalez at SS has a low OBA but ridiculous pop for a glove man; while Chipper is still Chipper only less often than he used to be (I�m not sure who he is the remainder of the time but I�ve heard it involves a wig, a feather boa, stiletto heels, and a request that he be referred to as Lady Devonshire). Odd Brave stat of the week: Skimming through the Braves draft last week I noticed they only drafted One player from the state of Georgia when in past years it seemed like they rarely paid their scouts to cross state lines. One year a full 1/3 of their picks were either from their home state or from neighboring Florida and Alabama.

Duda's dumbth didn't help either. And even though I'm certainly not going to throw back his hit, he basically reached for a 2-0 pitch which he hit weakly but got lucky that it found a hole. Not a great swing/approach especially since he was up there in that situation to, if he got ahead in the count, pick out a pitch and mash the snot out of it. Disappointing game/series although the game 2 loss was worse than this one.

MLB.com carries the first (actually probably not the first) of what I'm sure will be many articles declaring that: Stadium only suitable setting for Jeter's hit -- http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110613&content_id=20424192&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb With seven hits to go but also just three games left of the Yanx' current 10-game homestand - a homestand which wouldn't surprise me if it were planted at this spot in the season so as to increase the likelihood of a DJ3K celebration - things are looking dicey. Unfortunately for central planners, Jeet's slower hit pace this season isn't cooperating. One then wonders how much "rest" he'll require on the subsequent road-trip in order to steer the joyous event back to the Bronx and thus avoid a travesty of epic proportions.

A win plus a(nother) Florida loss puts us in 3rd place. Baby steps folks, baby steps.

Dickey - 3.5 Reyes - 1.2 Beltran - 1.2 Murphy - 0.8 Tejada - 1.2 Duda - 0.5

Capuano - 3.6 Reyes - 1.6 Beltran - 0.9 Murphy - 1.0 Turner - 1.0 Pagan - 0.5 Hairston - 0.6 Harris - 0.4 Bay - 0.4

DateTeamKTE AuthorJun 14-16at AtlantaFrayed KnotJun 17-19LA AngelsG-FaFiFJun 21-23OaklandFMan99Jun 24-26at TexasEdgy DCJun 28-30at DetroitGwreckJul 1-3YankeesSecond SpitterJul 4-7at LA DodgersJul 8-10at San FranciscosharpieJul 11-14All Star BreakJul 15-17PhiladelphiaJul 19-21St. LouisGWreckJul 22-24at FloridaSeawolfJul 25-28at CincinnatiMFS62Jul 29-31at WashingtonFman99Aug 1-3FloridaSeawolfAug 5-7AtlantaFman99Aug 8-11San DiegoEdgy DCAug 12-14at ArizonaAug 15-17at San DiegoEdgy DCAug 19-21MilwaukeeTransMonkAug 22-24at PhiladelphiaLWFSAug 26-28AtlantaAug 29-Sep 1FloridaSeawolfSep 2-4at Washingtonbmfc1Sep 5-7at FloridaSeawolfSep 9-11ChicagoLWFSSep 12-15WashingtonFrayed KnotSep 16-18at AtlantaSep 20-22at St. LouisSep 23-25PhiladelphiaSep 26-28Cincinnati

NOW Scott ... Really? The funny part is I switched for like 10 seconds in order to check on Liriano's no-hitter (he lost it on a leadoff single in the 8th) and missed the Hairston HR. Ooooh, but back in time for Jose's 3rd.

That's what, like six straight 2-out hits now? Dang, move just ONE of these RiSP hits to last night and we'd be 3/4 of the way towards sweepville by now.

About time we made Correia go south.

The Bonilla/Carter comparison is interesting. Carter had a bad rep among some (esp with other players) of being a phony on the basis that no one could be that smiley and up all the time and therefore it had to be an act. Except that that was truly who he was. Might have been overly annoying at times, but it wasn't faked. Bonilla not only also came with the big smile but the Mets clearly played up (and over-played) the "good guy" angle. It was when he didn't always measure up that rep (fit over the error and subsequent lies about it, Klapisch, butting heads with M&MD on signing day) that the conflicts started. Also, he committed the sin that many import Mets seem to fall victim to: the bad first season (BA & OBA down 50 pts from previous season; SLG down 60). By the time he righted his ship the team was sinking and by the time he was hitting like an AS he was gone.

9 LOB-sters for the Mets - a figure which doesn't even include the three runners who neither scored nor were left on because they were erased (Reyes caught stealing plus the two GiDPs). Some of it was bad luck and/or good defense from the Bucs (one day after they looked awful) but the big hit just never came. Hell, we were half lucky to score the runs we did. I thought Pagan was going to be sent on Duda's double. Maybe he's thrown out if he does go, but we sure weren't getting anywhere waiting around for the RiSP hit.

Unbelievable amount of opportunities not cashed in.

Gee - 4.4 Reyes - 1.9 Thole - 1.2 Pagan - 1.5 Duda - 1.0